Tony Burman (pictured), former CBC editor-in-chief and MD of Al Jazeera English, has been appointed as the Velma Rogers Graham research chair in news media and technology at Ryerson University.

Tony Burman (pictured), former MD of Al Jazeera’s international English news channel (AJE) and editor-in-chief at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 2002-2007, is returning to Toronto.

Burman has been appointed as the Velma Rogers Graham research chair in news media and technology at Ryerson University, effective September 1, 2011.

As part of the appointment, he’ll teach a course in the Toronto-based university’s School of Journalism regarding the relationship between journalists and politicians, and will conduct research on a number of topics concerning journalists today, including the impact of emerging technologies on news gathering and distribution.

“Technology has given journalists exciting new tools to tell the world’s stories but it has also created new pressures to report the news with speed and detail,” said Burman. “These pressures have crucial implications for society – on issues of accuracy, quality and integrity – which require care and reflection.

“I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with the next generation of Canadian journalists at Ryerson and I am honored by this appointment.”

Burman joined AJE in 2008 as MD and, under his watch, worldwide audience reach more than doubled – from 100 million households to 220 million. Most recently, he served as Al Jazeera’s head of strategy for the Americas.

Prior to AJE, he enjoyed a 35-year career with the CBC, which included posts as executive producer for nightly newscast The National and senior documentary producer for current affairs program The Journal. His CBC career culminated in a five-year stint as its editor-in-chief, during which he oversaw the public broadcaster’s news services across radio, TV and the Web.

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Daniele Alcinii is a news editor at realscreen, the leading international publisher of non-fiction film and television industry news and content. He joined the RS team in 2015 with experience in journalism following a stint out west with Sun Media in Edmonton's Capital Region, and with communications work in Melbourne, Australia and Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter at @danielealcinii.